Polar the Titanic Bear facts for kids
Polar the Titanic Bear is a special children's book. It was written by Margaretta "Daisy" Corning Spedden. She was an American woman who survived the famous sinking of the Titanic. Daisy wrote the story to entertain her seven-year-old son. It tells about her family's journey and the big disaster. The book was published about 45 years after she passed away. What makes it unique is that the story is told by a Teddy Bear!
How the Story Was Created
Daisy Spedden was born in Morristown, New Jersey. She lived with her husband, Frederic, and their son, Douglas. Their home was in Tuxedo Park, New York. The family loved to travel often. Daisy kept detailed diaries about all their trips.
In April 1912, the Spedden family booked tickets on the Titanic. After the ship sank, Daisy was rescued. She was saved by the RMS Carpathia. Luckily, everyone in the Spedden family survived the disaster.
The next year, Daisy wrote and drew a book. It told the story of their trip. It also covered the sinking and their rescue. The whole story was told from the point of view of Douglas's Teddy Bear. She gave this special storybook to Douglas as a Christmas gift. Sadly, two years later, Douglas died in a car accident. Daisy passed away on February 10, 1950. The storybook stayed with the family for the next forty years.
Publishing the Book
Many years later, a relative of Daisy's found the storybook. His name was Leighton H. Coleman III. He found it in a trunk and decided to get it published. The story was edited by Hugh Brewster. He worked for Madison Books in Toronto, Ontario. A Canadian artist named Laurie McGaw was chosen to draw the pictures. She used watercolours for the illustrations.
Leighton Coleman wrote an introduction for the book. It explained how the story came to be. Some of Daisy Spedden's own photos were also used. Pictures of Titanic souvenirs were included too. Madison Books published the first edition in 1994.
Here are some of the book's editions:
- Madison Books, 1994
- Little Brown and Company, 1994, 2001. (ISBN: 0-316-80909-8).
- Scholastic Books, 1998
- Hodder Headline, 1998 (ISBN: 0733609104)
- Rebound by Sagebrush, 2001. (ISBN: 0613717678)
The book has been translated into several languages. These include German, Spanish, Dutch, and Japanese.
Awards and Recognition
Polar the Titanic Bear has won many awards. These awards are for children's literature:
- Silver Birch Award of the Ontario Library Association
- 1998 BILBY Award (Young Readers Category) (Australia)
- Society of School Librarians' Award for International Best Book for K-6
- Finalist for the 1994 Governor General's Award (Canada), for Laurie McGaw's illustrations
- 1995 - Children's Choice Award
